Is a Focus on Goals a Good Idea?

Government Executive

Effective organizations encourage self-control, good process, proper discussion, and are more driven by growth mindsets than unrealistic performance metrics, according to the authors of this article.

States Bolster Program Evaluation Using American Rescue Plan Funds

Pew Charitable Trusts/Results First Initiative

Leaders in Colorado and New Mexico are considering an innovative approach using federal relief funding to build capacity for evidence-based policymaking – a smart investment that can have a positive impact down the road.

A Guide for Using Administrative Data to Examine Long-Term Outcomes in Program Evaluation

MDRC

This guide is a resource to assist program evaluation teams—including funders, sponsors, and evaluation research partners—in assessing the feasibility and potential value of examining long-term outcomes using administrative data.

Three Keys to a Successful Evaluation Office

GovInnovator (Podcast)

What does it take to be a successful evaluation office within a public agency? Three things that are important are being trustworthy, being engaging, and being relentless, explains Dr. Susan Jenkins, director of performance and evaluation for the Administration for Community Living in the Department of Health and Human Services.

Practical Steps for Building State Capacity and Infrastructure to Data for Evidence-Based Decision Making

NORC at University of Chicago (Nancy Potok and Nick Hart)

This paper provides a roadmap based on specific examples taken from successful federal and state experiences that can help states and local governments build capacity and infrastructure to use data for evidence-based decision-making. (scroll past cover page to see the actual paper).

Resource of the Week:  Customer Experience One-Stop for Selected Federal Services

Office of Management and Budget

While most of the projects undertaken via Cross-Agency Priority Goals have gone into hibernation on OMB’s Performance.gov website – after the end of the Trump administration and until the Biden administration launches its own CAP goals — the Customer Experience initiative continues and is becoming increasingly informative and substantive. Hopefully this will be the model all new CAP goals will adopt, instead of the previous static, stale approach used in the past.